Disclosed herein are polymeric microcarriers suitable for culturing cells in a biologically active environment. The polymeric microcarriers have a small size of from about 20 microns to about 200 microns, such as from about 25 microns to about 175 microns or from about 35 microns to about 150 microns, and a narrow particle size distribution. Due to the small size of the polymeric microcarriers, many cells may be cultivated on each individual polymeric microcarriers. Also, disclosed herein are processes, for example, emulsion/aggregation polymerization processes, suitable for making the polymeric microcarriers described herein.